Intravascular
The foundation of every intravascular device is a biocompatible polymer that is available in a variety of durometers for versatile application and readily accepts enhancing additives.Visibility of these polymers in the body via x-ray, known as radiopacity, is a common requirement for many intravascular devices. This is achieved by blending biocompatible radiopaque additives into the plastic. Precise and homogenous filler dispersion is critical to maintain processing and performance functionality. To treat different areas of the anatomy intravascular devices come in a variety of sizes, many of which are extremely small for difficult to print legible identifying text. Color coding of the component material is a common solution to this challenge.
Today's intravascular devices, such as neurovascular catheters,rely on small diameter, thin walled extrusions. Custom formulations of polymers and enhancing additives, known as compounds, are required to achieve the balance of performance properties otherwise unachievable by any single polymer. Increasingly complex devices utilize coextruded, multilumen and braid reinforced small diameter extrusions to deliver maximum therapeutic effect with a minimum cross section. In small diameter devices that require ultimate tensile strength, thermoplastic polymers may not be sufficient. In these applications the high tensile strength and precision tolerances of thermoset polyimide may be the best solution. Highly resistant to thermal, chemical, and radiation degradation, thermoset polyimide is the gold standard for demanding applications.
Precision cut lengths, thermal formed tips, skived lumens and insert molded connectors finish the polymer extrusion into a component ready for assembly into your intravascular device. Miniature and intricate features found on intravascular devices present a unique challenge to component finishing. Delicate tooling must be carefully designed and maintained to provide consistent results in production. Strict process controls ensure tight tolerances on small dimensions like tip radii and lumen wall thicknesses. Skiving and hole cutting processes must be carefully designed to eliminate debris that could obscure small lumens or contaminate the finished device.